Meeting Before Training
by Meikalina
Summary: Karin, wrapped into her towel and still dripping of hot water drops, flung the door open, her frown hurling death sentences. "Uh…" "Oh my god, it's you! Sorry!" Feeling suddenly very naked in front of her giant friend, she tightened back up her towel around her body. Yasutora Sado, standing on the other side of the passage, was oddly peering at her.


Weeeeeell… I am highly dissatisfied with this one, but I don't know how to improve it anymore, so here it is. I had this scene in mind so I needed to write it down, but it doesn't feel that right. I don't know. Do not hesitate to comment in order to help me to ameliorate! Thanks!

* * *

"What _again_ now!?"

Karin, wrapped into her towel and still dripping of hot water drops, flung the door open, her frown hurling death sentences.

"Uh…"

"Oh my god, it's _you!_ Sorry!"

Feeling suddenly very naked in front of her giant friend, she tightened back up her towel around her body. Yasutora Sado, standing on the other side of the passage, was oddly peering at her, the only hint of surprise on his face being his eyes slightly wider than usual. Even though that was a minor change in his expression, it was enough for the brunette to realize he was uncomfortably close.

To break the eerie silence that seemed to have conveniently settled, Karin eventually blurted out the first thing that came to her mind.

"Is it time already?"

"I can come back later if you want."

"No! No. It's fine. Just come on in, it's my fault. You know how I'm always late."

She removed herself from the doorframe to let the passage free; and after a few seconds of hesitation, Chad finally entered her house. She indicated him the couch with a vague gesture.

"I will go back to the bathroom to finish my shower. Do you want some coffee before?"

He only nodded to show his agreement. He stared at her as she undertook to prepare the said coffee. She was mumbling about her hair that was embarrassing her at every of her moves. Because she was clinging very hard to the tiny piece of cloth that was covering her nudity, she didn't really dare release it to tie them. She could hardly move actually. Her damp towel was disagreeably sticking to her skin.

Left aside in the corner of the room, Chad struggled to swallow. He would have never thought to find himself in such situation with his best friend's sister, and even less being that much upset about it. He hated himself for not being able to remove his glance from the petite girl. The Mexican had always liked her, it was a fact; as soon as she grew a little older, they quickly became friends; while even if he found Yuzu a very nice girl, they never developed any particular bond. But he had never thought of any kind of possible ambiguity between them, because she was not _a girl_ , she was just _Ichigo's sister_.

However, the current situation made him cruelly reconsider that theoretically acquired fact. Sure she was pretty, _and_ maybe he was a fool for not having noticed before he was probably susceptible to it. _But_ , could he really like Karin _that_ way? That would definitely be a problem, and he had never contemplated the possibility. The idea wasn't even supposed to _cross_ his head. Maybe it was the exceptional circumstances that blurred his ability to reason correctly? And yet… They'd been hanging out for such a long time now, it seemed weird. He just couldn't help it for the moment.

As she was doddering, sometimes he could have a peek up to the top of her thigh. That view made him feel all warm and awkward.

That assessment gave him the strength to sit and look away, as he judged this was going too far. He was deeply studying the tiny details of the plainly white wall, when he suddenly heard a loud noise: he turned round only to see Karin's head disappear behind the counter of her kitchen.

"Aaaaaah!"

As soon as he got up to help, he heard the brunette yell in a very panicked voice.

"WAIT, Chad, don't come!"

"But are you alright? You're not hurt?"

"Don't worry, I'm perfectly fine, I just slipped on the wet floor"

And she precipitously emerged again, just as she had disappeared, clinging even more tightly to her towel, as if her life depended on it.

Chad was breathless. Her hair was falling everywhere on her shoulders and her chest; and the delicate pink that started to tinge her cheeks made her _irresistible_. Her panting didn't help. He had always found her very beautiful, but for sure, nothing had ever prepared him to this vision. He blinked several times, and then spoke abruptly, to chase his own attention from her.

"Do you need help for anything?"

"I, uh, no, that's right. Here, when the water will be boiling you'll just have to pour it into this cup; I already put the coffee in it. I'll go finish my shower now."

She left hastily on her tiptoes, trying her best to not wet the rest of her house.

And there he was, all alone. It took him a few seconds to process she had left. He helped himself with the coffee and went back to the couch. She came back a few minutes later, this time comfortably wrapped into a long thick bathrobe, and a serviette rolled around her hair. She loudly sighed and let herself fall on the couch.

"Is it fine with you if we go training at 11 instead? I'm a mess this morning. It takes me hours to do anything."

"I don't mind. Did you drink last night?"

"Yeah, I'm still having a bit of a hangover."

She was rubbing her temples as she said so. Then she noticed the mug that was patiently steaming on her coffee table.

"Did you make this coffee for me!?"

"Yes."

"Oh thanks, that's so nice of you!"

But she still looked at him guiltily.

"You really don't mind waiting here until I find back my capacity to think without my head hurting?"

"No. I like spending time with you."

"I know, me too. But since that's not what was planned, I don't want to bother you."

He gently smiled.

"You're not."

"Good. Oh, and sorry for earlier. I thought that was a friend. She found time to interrupt me two times before I could finish to wash myself, so I wondered how on earth she could have forgotten something again. I didn't realize it was time and it could be you."

"Don't worry."

They silently sat for a while, quietly sipping their coffee. Karin was highly unaware of the effect she had produced on Chad. Even then, he was struggling to not focus on the two long slender legs that emerged from her bathrobe, which she had casually crossed and put on the table.

"You're very silent today. How's life been going?"

"The regular, I guess. Not much happens."

"Oh, is that so? I haven't seen you in a while though. How's work?"

"The usual. I'm sorry, I can't find anything interesting to tell you right now."

"Really? Any girl, recently?"

He wondered why he had this habit to tell her about the girls. It had always seemed natural since she asked. But this specific day, that made him uneasier than anything else.

"A few. The usual, really."

"Chad, I was wondering, have you ever had a girlfriend?"

He frowned.

"Of course. You know that, I always tell you about it."

"I'm not talking about the chicks you bang, I'm asking you about a real girlfriend."

"Don't talk about them like that."

"Oooh come on, you know that's true! It's almost always one-night-stands, isn't it?"

"Yeah, but still, don't talk about them like that."

She rolled her eyes.

"Alright Mr. Gentleman. So? You didn't answer my question."

He thought about it for a second.

"No, I never had a real girlfriend."

"How's that even possible? You're almost 30, what have you done with your life?"

"It's not as easy as saying it, and you know it. I don't know, I've never really thought about it."

"Okay, I am aware it's not _easy_ , but Chad, you're nice, tall, handsome, strong, and you play the guitar, I don't know much girls that would _dare_ ask for more you know."

He felt more and more embarrassed with the topic, and only grunted to give her an answer. He also started to feel a bit confused. Her following question didn't help.

"How do you pick a girl when it comes to sex?"

"Why are you asking me all this?"

"I dunno. I'm curious. I'm sad for you, I think you deserve a nice girl to be with. So?"

"I don't pick them. I don't want to hurt anyone, since I don't have feelings for them. But sometimes it's like they're throwing themselves at me."

Karin burst out of an uncontrollable laugh.

"Oh my, it's hard to have a harem waiting for you, isn't it?"

"I never complained."

"I know! So every time a girl hits on you, you just say yes? You little slut!"

The brunette was usually comfortable enough with her giant friend to fling any kind of humor at him. However, for once, even for someone as terse as Yasutora, this last remark had him remain silent long enough to make her worry.

"I'm sorry if I hurt you Chad, you know I didn't mean to. That was just a joke."

"Yes, I know. I'm just realizing I never asked a girl out, finally."

"Really? Man, you do have a harem!"

The silent spread between them again. She took a deep breath and rekindled the conversation.

"But how come that you never asked a girl out? Didn't you ever had feeling for one single girl, that made you willing to take the plunge?"

"That's what I'm wondering at the moment. Maybe I couldn't find anyone because I hadn't really realized that… I… I think I may have missed a few occasions. I never felt sure."

"You can't always wait for things to be perfect."

"Yeah… I think I'm getting this right now."

For the first time since he knew Karin, Chad sort of wanted to leave. If he was probably the only person on Earth that had never been annoyed by the hotheaded girl, and who always felt at ease by her side, he was currently asking himself too many questions, and started to doubt about everything.

However, at the same time, he definitely wanted to stay there. He just needed a few minutes alone to put his thoughts in order. He was slowly realizing that his belly felt all weird, and that maybe it wasn't the first time when he was with her. Man, she was right to make fun of him saying he was slow, was he really _that_ slow? He wasn't the kind to analyze what he felt, but how could he miss _that_?

Since he wasn't going to leave anyway, he tried to distract her from him and returned her questions. Curiously enough, after all her insistence, she eventually seemed as reluctant as him to answer them.

"And you? What about boys?"

"Mmmh… The same. A few, nothing much."

"That's been quite a long time since you've been dating someone, uh?"

"Yeah…"

"Is there something you're not telling me?"

She wriggled a bit, changed her position several time, weighing up pros and cons in her mind before finally drawling again.

"Actually… There's this _boy_ , that I have liked for like… Forever, but… I don't know. I couldn't resolve myself to do anything about it. I'm afraid it's one-sided so…"

"Why don't you just try, so you can find out?"

"You know what you said earlier about girls? That you never have to do anything, since they're always throwing themselves at you? Well, I guess I can be like that sometimes, but I'm a bit tired of making the first move. I mean, when I just try to hook up for a night, it's fine, but for him, I'm afraid it would be a mistake. Because if I do so, how will he know that I really care about him? That I'm not just a random girl among a lot of others trying to just have sex? What would make me different?"

"You really seem to like that guy."

"Yeah, I do."

"And you have no idea if it's reciprocate or not?"

"Not a single. Sometimes I think it is, and sometimes that it is not at all. It's exasperating."

"Try to sent him some hints."

"He doesn't get any of them. I'm in a dead-end."

"Why don't you simply genuinely confess?"

"Are you _totally_ aware of _who_ you're talking to?"

This comment made him chuckle, but his faced recovered seriousness almost immediately. His sudden concern and questions startled her as much as hers bewildered him. However, both of them took a conscientious application to appear as flippant as if they were debating about the ideal breakfast.

"And you can't find anyone else?"

"I tried. During the last years, I dated a few guys, but it just felt wrong to me. I tried to forget him, but I never truly could. That's why I've not even been trying to seriously look for a boyfriend recently. I'm tired of making a fool of myself."

"I don't know how to help you."

"Oh really? You don't?"

The giant man blankly stared at his petite friend, and she rolled her eyes in exasperation.

"Nevermind, I just hoped you could be wise enough to advise me."

She deeply sighed and snuggled against him, so he passed an arm behind her back to hold her close. The brunette laid her head on his chest, and they remained motionless for a moment, just breathing in harmony. She wasn't the cuddly kind of girl, but once in a while she authorized herself to be a bit more affectionate when she needed comfort. And she really needed comfort from that idiot at the moment.

"You smell good."

"I'm coming out of the shower, dumbass. You heart is racing."

"I know."

She raised her head to give him the " _that's not an answer_ " glare. He found their faces unexpectedly close.

They realized they were kissing for almost a minute only when they stopped in order to gulp some air. But they didn't get time to realize they had stopped because they were kissing again. The next minutes were made of a confuse agitation. If it was predictable that the towel fell of her hair, it was less that all her bathrobe suddenly found itself useless, lying on the ground. It was even less planned that Chad ended as naked as her.

Almost an hour later, as they were finally resting in each other's arm and still panting, what they just did slightly started to occur to them. Karin was the first to graciously break the silence of their immobile embrace.

"Shit."

"What's the problem?"

"I was supposed to wait before taking that step with you. Ah, damn it."

"To wait?"

"Yeah, like I said earlier."

"Wasn't that for this guy you like?"

"Are you. Fucking. _Serious_?"

"Uh…"

"Chad, it's _YOU_ , you big oaf! So you made the move, but you still had not figured out?"

"You made the move."

"Nope. You did."

"But…"

"Oh shut up."

There was no way they could ever find out who did it, since they probably simultaneously did.

"Whatever. What happened should not be a problem."

"Oh yeah?"

"No. Since we'll spend a lot, lot more time together now."

That statement surprised her, but she felt all the tension in her muscles release suddenly. Chad was gently caressing her hair, as they laid together on the couch. After some time, he softly spoke again.

"We're not going to that training today, are we?"

"Not now we've discovered such a good alternative way to train."


End file.
